Navigate:

Will U.S. energy boom be a bust?

Still, Republicans should be wary of ignoring people’s fears about the environmental risks.

“No question that environmental considerations are part of the debate, and Republicans have to pay attention to them and be sensitive to them,” the former official said. “It’s just a question of how you develop a regulatory regime.”

Text Size

-

+

reset

Consumers vs. exporters

The shale boom has revived a domestic natural-gas industry that many energy companies feared had fallen into an irreversible decline at the turn of the century. Production increased more than 20 percent in the past five years, producing a glut that knocked prices to the lowest levels in a decade early in 2012.

Those cheap prices have sparked economic revivals in many areas, particularly the industrial centers of the Midwest, where power plants, chemical makers, fertilizer companies and other energy-thirsty businesses are placing bets that the low prices will continue.

But some natural-gas producers have their eyes on a more lucrative target: Asian markets, such as Japan, South Korea and China, where the fuel can sometimes fetch 10 times the U.S. price.

For U.S. politicians and consumers, shipping gas to foreign markets raises fears that the domestic advantage in low energy prices may be squandered by gas producers who are eager to earn higher profit margins.

Any plans to allow large-scale exports of liquefied natural gas might have to win over Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who is expected to be chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress. Wyden has called for a “timeout” before the U.S. opens the door to sending large amounts of gas abroad.

“It could harm the nation’s ability to achieve energy independence, combat pollution and preserve the environment and improve the economic competitiveness of American manufacturers,” Wyden said in a recent statement.

But Wyden said exporting LNG produced in Alaska would be possible because those supplies are unlikely to affect resources in the rest of the country.

Global LNG demand is likely to grow by 17 billion cubic feet per day in the coming years, and potential U.S. exports could probably supply about 6 billion cubic feet of that, said Bill Cooper, president of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas. That would hardly make a dent in a market that consumes about 68 billion cubic feet a day, he said.

So if "unconventional" fields are now available in the US, doesn't it mean that other countries can access similar fields in their own territories as well? Hence lowering world demand? Either way, being on our way to energy independence is a good thing.

"So if "unconventional" fields are now available in the US, doesn't it mean that other countries can access similar fields in their own territories as well?"

Yes. Poland, for instance, will likely start fracking shale for natural gas, which will not make the Russians very happy, since Poland will be less-dependent on Russia. Some people have claimed that Russian money is behind, at least in some part, the anti-fracking movement.

If this clown President has anything to do with yes it will be a bust. And this boom has nothing to do with President Coward by the way in fact he is doing his best to make sure his regime will impede our energy freedom. Meanwhile his policies in the middle east have have turned the entire region into a powder keg and we are one small war from $15 a gallon gas.

Article: Long a beggar on the world energy stage, the United States is entering what many experts are calling an era of growing abundance — perhaps enough to turn the nation into a net exporter of oil and natural gas by the end of the decade.

It’s a stunning turnaround from the expectations of scarcity and growing dependence on imports that have ruled U.S. energy policy since the early 1970s.

Leave it to POLITICO writers to take a free market MIRACLE, and write a headline like...

If this clown President has anything to do with yes it will be a bust. And this boom has nothing to do with President Coward by the way in fact he is doing his best to make sure his regime will impede our energy freedom. Meanwhile his policies in the middle east have have turned the entire region into a powder keg and we are one small war from $15 a gallon gas.

-------------------------------------

YEP! Just another Democrat president kept afloat by the free market economy. If it weren't for drilling on PRIVATE lands, the price of oil would be WAY up, and America's energy production would be WAY down!

Oil ,gas and coal companies are already laying people off because of Obama and his Draconian EPA regulating and destroying our energy future. His goal is to KEEP us from energy independence,and the economic boom and prosperity that would prevent him from continuing his control on those he counts on for votes.His greatest fear is an affluent middle class and elimination of economic hardship that he uses for political advantage.As long as He and others like him control access to our energy it is going to be cold,dark and expensive.Just like North Korea..'Under my plan of cap and trade,electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket"-- Barack Hussein Obama - We have elected the enemy.

Oil ,gas and coal companies are already laying people off because of Obama and his Draconian EPA regulating and destroying our energy future. His goal is to KEEP us from energy independence,and the economic boom and prosperity that would prevent him from continuing his control on those he counts on for votes.His greatest fear is an affluent middle class and elimination of economic hardship that he uses for political advantage.As long as He and others like him control access to our energy it is going to be cold,dark and expensive.Just like North Korea..'Under my plan of cap and trade,electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket"-- Barack Hussein Obama - We have elected the enemy.

------------------

Exactly. We have elected the enemy. Unfortunately, the people who voted for the class warfare clown don't appreciate their freedoms, they just want other people's stuff!

Everything you said was true - except Obama got reelected. And he will kill domestic energy production as a sacrifice on the altar of global warming. Socialists have one thing in common - they promote scarcity. Just watch.

Bottom line of this piece? We will apparently go down in flames. Today the U.S. uses far more than its share of the world's resources to support our extravagant lifestyles. We are pushing species off the planet at record rates. We are pumping our aquifers dry and our lakes and rivers are already so toxic that fish consumption advisories don't even make the news. Climate change is little more than a footnote in this article.

We need to enter another "era of abundance" like we need a pistol to hold to our head.

Don't like growth ??? try this--Next cold dark nigt go down to the basement and turn off the electricity,gas,and water,then empty the pantry and refrigerator.Next ,fire your doctor and disable your car.if you plan on living in the 19th century,this is your future without growth unless we greatly reduce the population, which coincidentally,just happens to be on the agenda of Obama's advisors.Will you be one who gets "reduced" ?

Don't like growth ??? try this--Next cold dark nigt go down to the basement and turn off the electricity,gas,and water,then empty the pantry and refrigerator.Next ,fire your doctor and disable your car.if you plan on living in the 19th century,this is your future without growth unless we greatly reduce the population, which coincidentally,just happens to be on the agenda of Obama's advisors.Will you be one who gets "reduced" ?

kilowatt, the above makes sense, when you don't think about it. But give it some serious thought and you might realize we can't grow forever. The future you describe is exactly where we'll end up if we don't progress out of our infatuated-with-growth phase. Yes, we got a lot of benefits from growth. But just like when you go out for a good meal, if you're smart you don't keep eating until you explode.

The era of growth is behind us. It is time for us to be content. A serious, knowledgable discussion of population growth does not include the rather inane remark about who volunteers to be "reduced." Our population can be significantly reduced simply by voluntarily making responsible, informed decisions to have smaller families.

We can have a beautiful future, but we don't get there by burning down the house to keep warm.

The energy corporation backed report is one-sided garbage and hype though the anti-science republicans will cling to the 'science' behind this report solely because they like what it says.

There are always the long view people and the short view people. The short view people say dig, drill and burn. It provides a service and a few can make a ton of money on flipping fuels.

The long view people say what about everything else. What will America's fresh water, air, and land look like during this fossil fuel explosion?

Already, fresh water fish in the Midwest is not advised to be eaten by children and pregnant women due to mercury toxicity.

Great plains farmers and ranchers are competing with fossil fuel power plants and frackers for dwindling fresh water both surface and aquifers.

Global scientists are worried that all of their predictions are coming true faster than what they had thought. So, what happens if American fossil fuel corporations speed up pollution and global warming?

It's time to say no and leave it in the ground. There is no need for fossil fuel other than a short bridge. Solar, wind, tidal and biofuel (oil is old algae) are all we need.

Corporations will always pick the highest short view profit; countries need to pick clean energy for both short and long views. Jobs are in both paths so it is 'not' a jobs issue.

You have some points,Dave. We need to reach a point of equilibrium,but as long as there is unchecked population growth,anti capitalistic administrations,a permanent welfare class,and a purposely dumbed down youth and electorate,your dream is just that- a dream.When far more prudent minds than the ones currently running the country-and the world, finally realize this we may yet have a chance.As it is now,we are like a diesel powered truck driving through a methane cloud. Know what happens?

Yes, as long as we have an adminstration that insists that they can do a better job with mandates, regulation, and litigation rather than let the market grow the sector. We will remain the victim of world wide energy demand rather than dominate it, creating an energy "independance" that is completely reliant on the benevolence of outside our influence.